Marketing

Consider Pros, Cons of Alternative Grain Storage Methods

by: Source: Chris Bruynis, OSU Extension Ross County

Farmers are faced with making some tough decisions this fall going into harvest. I am hearing there are large quantities of 2017’s crop still in storage in the local elevators which could lead to limited hours and inadequate storage for the 2018 large crop that is being harvested. Also there are pricing and basis concerns which clearly favor keeping the grain on the farm. These issues are making farmers scramble to find storage options and find them quick.

Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University Extension agricultural engineer offers some advice that we need to think about when making this decision.  The important point is that all storage options should keep the grain dry and provide adequate aeration to control grain temperature. Grain must be dry and cool (near the average outdoor temperature) when placed in alternative storage facilities because providing adequate, uniform airflow to dry grain or cool grain coming from a dryer is not feasible.

Also farmers need to think about the structural issues of the building. Grain pushing against walls can damage buildings not built for grain storage. The wall must be anchored securely, and its structural members must be strong enough to transfer the force to the building poles or support structure without breaking or excessive bending. He suggests hiring an engineer to complete a structural analysis and follow the recommendations to reinforce the structure. The last thing farmers need is structural failure where we lose the grain and the structure.

Other option beside existing buildings could include poly bags, but it does not prevent mold growth in damp grain or insect infestations. Place grain in the bag at recommended storage moisture contents based on grain and outdoor temperatures during the potential storage period. Heating will occur if the grain exceeds a safe storage moisture content and it cannot be aerated to control heating. The average temperature of dry grain will follow the average outdoor temperature. If considering this option, select an elevated, well-drained site for the storage bags. Run the bags north and south so solar heating is similar on both sides. Sunshine on just one side heats that side, which can lead to moisture accumulation in the grain and spoilage on the cool side.

Grain covers over a pile could be an option as well, but site preparation might be costly. A combination of restraining straps and suction from the aeration system, when designed correctly, holds grain covers in place. This system can also provide adequate airflow through the grain to control grain temperature. Place perforated ducts on the grain under the cover to provide a controlled air intake for the aeration system and airflow near the cover to minimize condensation problems under the cover. Place properly sized and spaced ducts under the pile on the ground to pull air through the grain. Some storage options use a perforated wall for the air inlet.

For additional information and building specifications on alternative storage option go to https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ageng/grainsto/ae84.pdf.

World Supply and Demand Estimates for September 12, 2018

by Ben Brown, Program Manager- Farm Management Program College of Food, Agricultural, & Environmental Sciences  Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210

614-688-8686 Office

brown.6888@osu.edu

USDA released their monthly supply and demand estimates today and similar to years past the September WASDE was an important one given its proximity to the end of harvest in the United States. This year’s September WASDE could have more influence on final yields compared to years past taking into consideration how quickly the crops are progressing. The crop progress report that came out earlier this week reported that corn completion is 2% further along than our five-year average- an adjustment from 3% to 5%. However, considering the majority of the corn production is located in the Midwest and Upper Plains, the percent of corn entering dent stage is important. USDA reports that 86% of the U.S. corn crop is in the dent stage compared to the 5-year average of 75%. For soybeans the percent of the U.S. crop dropping leaves is at 31% compared to the five-year average of 19%. Historically the October report has been the best indicator of final crop yields, but since 1964 when a crop is this far along there is significant correlation with the September yield forecasts.

As far as commodity prices received to producers, this was another WASDE to burn. However, producers will have to shake it off because while complaining about prices might make one feel better, it historically hasn’t changed the result. The yield forecast confirmed early reports by the Pro-Farmer Tour and Ohio Ag Net that this had the potential to be a record crop. The Pro-Farmer Tour had results of 177bu./acre for corn and 53bu./acre for soybeans for a national average. Ohio yields were 184 bu./ acre for corn and 60 bu./acre for soybeans. Both would be new yield records for Ohio beating previous records of 177 bu./acre for corn in 2017 and 54.5 bu./acre for soybeans in 2016. The Crop Production Report released today had an Ohio corn yield of 188 bu./acre and a Ohio soybean yield of 58 bu./acre. Multiplied by expected harvested acreage, this would be Ohio’s second largest corn crop and largest soybean crop in terms of production. Total U.S. yields were 181.3 bu./acre for corn and 52.8 bu./acre for soybeans.

Preventive plant numbers and failed acreage reports filed through USDA have to this point been lower than the 5-year average. It is likely that the harvested acreage estimates won’t move much through the remainder of the growing season, which leaves yield as the determining factor for total production. Total corn production is estimated at 14,827 billion bushels. Total soybean production is estimated at 4,693 billion bushels. That’s a lot of grain to store and sell. Some farmers or cooperatives will have a blank space and they will probably use it to pile corn, given the large size of both crops and significant carry over from 2017.

Moving to the demand side, export numbers for soybeans would suggest the there is some bad blood in the water between the United States and China and develops the question “will the U.S. and China ever get back together”. Trade theory would suggest that the U.S. price will either be bid lower on excess supply and weakened demand or the rest of the world price (mainly large exporters like Brazil) will be bid higher on stronger demand for their product until the U.S. price plus the tariff is equal to the Brazilian price. With an additional 25% Chinese tariff on U.S. soybeans, that would mean that the U.S. soybean price will would need to be 80% of the rest of the world price (i.e. Brazil) for the two prices to be substitutable to Chinese buyers. That wedge as of today sits at 83%, meaning that the Brazil price is still not high enough or the U.S. price has not hit it’s floor yet. Sorry for the bad news.

Due to the higher world price, Chinese, Brazilian and European producers are getting the signal to produce more product. Similarly, Chinese consumers are getting the signal to consume less. This creates a decrease in the amount of soybean imports for China, holding everything else constant.

Looking at the May WASDE, which in this case represents the before tariff estimates and the September WADE, which represents post tariff estimates we can draw conclusions about use. Chinese soybean production in the September WASDE is increased from the May WASDE by 6%, and their imports of soybeans are decreased by 9 million metric tons or 8.7%. This follows the logic in the paragraph above.

Time for some good news. As expected, a lower commodity price will spur domestic use. Corn ethanol production is up 50 million metric tons compared to a year ago and finally we are seeing increases in the feed and residual use value- up 125 million bushels from 2017. This value was also increased 50 million bushels from the August report. Exports for the 2018 crop are still down from 2017, but raised from the August report on strong growth in sales to Egypt, Columbia, and Mexico.

Soybean use, shows a 15 million bushel increase in crush- driven by profit margin of soybean oil. Bio-diesel is increased 800 million pounds on the resulting increase in soybean oil. It’s like a peanut butter sandwich- to get a sandwich, one need equal parts of peanut butter and jelly. For soybeans, increased crushing to get more soybean oil also produces more soybean meal. The increase in soybean meal pushes down meal prices and a decrease of $20/ short ton is represented in the WASDE report. Soybean export continue to be stronger than normal right now to countries not named China. This increase in exports is not expected to continue through the remainder of the marketing year. Soybean export estimates have been reduced 70 million bushels compared to a year ago, even with the record crop.

Total soybean use is reduced to 24,200 million bushels and ending stocks are increased to 845 million bushels. For corn, total use is increased to 15,105 million bushels, but not enough to counter the large production, as ending stocks are also increased to 1,774 million bushels.

The markets were expecting corn production around 14.5 billion bushels. The larger than expected corn crop pushed futures prices lower today. December corn futures reached their lowest levels of their existence settling at $3.52/bu. November soybean futures traded sideways as the increase in production was close to expectation. The season marketing average for corn is now projected at $3.50/bu. and for soybeans at $8.60/bu. As a reminder the season marketing period for both corn and soybeans is September 1, 2018- August 31, 2019.

Grain marketing this winter and early spring will be tough for producers, because the low prices are expected to continue. Any talk of a resolution to the trade situation has been a positive sign to markets and one could expect that if resolved could send corn and soybean prices significantly above current futures prices. However, a large South American crop this winter followed by another above trend U.S. crop would possibly send U.S. prices to their lowest levels since the early 2000s. It’s completely their choice, but personally- I’d rather be safe than sorry.

 

It’s almost that time of year … Don’t forget to calibrate your yield monitor!

Source: John Barker, OSU Extension – Knox County

Remember the old adage … Garbage in = Garbage out. Many of us use our yield data to make additional management decisions on our farms such as hybrid or variety selection, fertilizer applications, marketing, etc. Data from an uncalibrated yield monitor can haunt us for many years by leading us into improper decisions with lasting financial affects. In today’s Ag economy we can ill afford any decision with adverse financial implications.

The two biggest reasons I usually hear for not calibrating a yield monitor are 1) I just don’t have time to do it or 2) I can’t remember how to do it without getting my manual out. While i know it’s easy to criticize from “the cheap seats”, I would argue that this could be some of the most important time you spend in your farming operation each year. Like many other tasks on our farm, the more we do it, the easier it gets. To learn more read 2018 Yield Monitor Calibration

Market Reacts to Proposed Tariffs

Source: Ben Brown, Program Manager- Farm Management Program, College of Food, Agricultural, & Environmental Sciences, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics

Here is an update on where we stand today on corn and soybean exports and how the markets are responding to the tariff announcements between the US and China. Several of you have probably followed the story in the news and are already aware of what’s going on.

Quick recap of the timeline- The Administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports for all trading partners and then started to provide exemptions for countries that were willingly working on a free trade agreement. The United States is a net importer of steel with most of our imports coming from Canada and the European Union. China is the world’s largest producers of steel but only 2% of their product is exported to the United States. President Trump removed the steel tariffs on Mexico, Canada, Kora, EU and some of the other trading partners but left the tariff on China. This accounts for about a 3-billion-dollar loss to the Chinese. On Monday the Chinese announce tariff on U.S. pork imports at 25%. This is a huge blow to an industry that was already seeing breakeven to negative per head returns. Our estimate given current budgets was a loss of about 10 dollars per head.

Yesterday the Administration announced proposed tariffs on intellectual property rights and other Chinese products to the tune of about 50 billion dollars. That was met with response today with China announcing tariffs on 100 plus agricultural good at a rate of 25% to be enacted the day the U.S. enacts their tariffs. Important to note that the tariffs are not in place, but the market is reacting to uncertainty.

That brings us to where we are today. Half of the U.S. soybean crop is exported and 62% of the exports go to China, meaning that one third of the U.S. production of soybeans goes to China. Given tariffs at 25%, my estimate from the model shows that we could lose 60-70 percent of our export market to China. That means that if these tariffs go into effect only a fifth of our soybean production would go to China or 1 in 5 soybean rows. Those soybeans will need a buyer. Some will be kept in the United State and fed for feed grain and some will be exported to other world markets because of the lower price.

Argentina has mostly harvested their crop and while it was down in total production due to a drought, they will pick up some soybean market share in China. The big winner is Brazil. They had a relatively strong soybean crop and will be ready to export soybeans. Their second growing season this year is in large percentages corn, but they will also have some soybeans harvested in a couple of months. Like the U.S. drought of 2012, the U.S. will lose market share of soybean exports and it is not certain when we could gain that back. The lower soybean price will lower cost for hog producers and my estimate is now a 7 dollar per head loss.

The United States exports very little corn to start with, only 15% of production not taking into account ethanol exports, and of that the bulk goes to Mexico and Japan. The 25% Chinese tariff won’t affect the corn price as much as the soybean price. However, with a lower world soybean price an incentive to grow corn presents itself. More corn acres would pull down the price of corn. Right now the corn market is down about 7 cents but has been down 12 cents. The perspective planting report that came out Thursday showed an intention by U.S. producers to plant 88 million acres of corn or roughly 2% less than last year. Weather will be the big player between now and June when the next planting report comes out as a wet spring will push some corn acres into soybeans. Even with the tariffs on corn today, I’m still optimistic for a rally in corn prices this summer into harvest. I think we will see an increase in the marketing year average price for corn next week in the WASDE based on the assumption that our feed usage of corn stays between 35 and 40% for the second half of the marketing year.

To the average U.S. consumer these tariffs could cheapen food products at the expense of higher manufactured goods like technology imported from China. Food consumption makes up a relatively small portion of our expenditures meaning that the higher manufactured goods could be higher than the gain from cheaper food.

From a farm management stand point, this could mean higher equipment and input costs along with lower output prices. A double whammy for farmers.

In Ohio we saw a decrease in the amount of corn held in storage which likely means a weakening of basis while soybean on hand was larger signaling a strengthen in basis.

All in all, the markets are reacting to uncertainty. However, if the Administration does move forward with the tariffs we could continue to see decreases in soybean prices and possibly modest decreases in corn prices. The futures market for soybeans is down 38 cents right now but was 60 cents down when I woke up this morning. I look for a little bit of a rebound later today and tomorrow as I think the markets over reacted to some extent, but will not return to the level they were prior to today.

This will also complicate the farm bill adding another hurdle to the already narrow window that existed of getting it done this year.

Grain Storage in the United States and Abroad

by Ben Brown

Click here to Access article Grain Storage in the U.S. and Abroad (has graphs)

Happy Grain Bin Safety Week! That right, February 18th through the 24th is national Grain Bin Safety Week. Grain bins are certainly nothing to play chicken with as the grain inside, while used to make the food that nourishes our bodies, can also be a quicksand-like hazard. Taking extreme caution and having at least one other person around while inside a grain bin is highly recommended.  In fact, since some grain bins are located on the edge of the field without a readily known mailing address, making sure the address is posted somewhere visible is just an added layer of preparedness in case emergency help is needed. Grain bin safety is important! In honor of Grain Bin Safety week here is a quick review of the grain on hand both in the United States and internationally.

There should be little surprise that stocks, both domestically and abroad, have been on the rise the last five years as world prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat declined after their peaks in 2012/13. Five straight years of above trend yield for worldwide grain production have contributed to the abundant stocks. An example of trend would be if a football team won six games one year, seven the next, and eight the following. Given trend, one would expect that in the fourth year, the team would win nine games, but instead they won fourteen. This would be an above trend year. Arguments can be made whether the exceptional world yields were products of good weather globally or technological advancements in seed. Lower prices for grains have encouraged producers to retain larger portions of their crop on farm or in storage at local elevators in the hope for an upward bounce in price.

Starting with domestic soybeans, 2017 was another solid year for soybean production. The National Agricultural Statistics Service will make the county yield estimates for 2017 official later in February, but early estimates are for 49 bushels per acre. This is slightly down from the previous year of 52 bushels per acre. However, planted acres for soybeans have steadily increased the last few years and the increased acreage more than compensated for the decrease in yield. Soybean production in the U.S. totaled a record 4.39 billion bushels in 2017. Luckily there has been an increased use for crushed soybeans, soy protein and soybean oil. Figure 1 shows domestic stocks and the percent of total use.

In figure 1, we see that the stocks to use ratio for U.S. soybeans has increased the last four years largely contributed to strong yields across the Midwest and increased acreage. Due to profitability of corn and soybeans per acre, the United States Department of Agriculture has projected that soybean acreage will continue to increase in the years to come. The U.S. exports a little over 2 billion bushels of soybeans each year, which is almost half of the total use of domestic production.

Moving to “King” corn, the same story roughly applies. However, this time record corn yields across the Corn Belt were counteracted with a decrease in harvested acreage. Not all of the increase in soybean acreage for 2017 came from corn acreage, as wheat and sorghum were also contributors. Especially in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas. However, with a national yield of 177 bushels per acre, 2017 beat the previous record yield. Total production in the U.S. came in at 14.6 billion bushels, down 4 percent from 2016.

At 20 percent, the stock to use ratio for corn has increased in six consecutive years. Another strong yielding year or a decrease in the demand for corn products could put even more downward pressure on corn prices. Ethanol production uses about 5.5 billion bushels and corn used for animal feed makes up about 5.6 billion bushels. These two categories make up the largest segments of U.S. corn use. Currently the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates are projecting a 2017/18 marketing year average price of $3.30, which is below Ohio’s average breakeven price and $0.40 below the reference price created in the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 2014 for Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments at $3.70.

For wheat, one of the bright spots is that the U.S. stocks to use ratio has started to decrease after a historic high last year. However, the downside for wheat is that there has not been the large driver for demand like in corn and soybeans with ethanol and protein respectively. Since 1996, the total use for wheat has remained relatively flat with slightly decreasing production on reduced acreage. Until demand for wheat picks up, wheat acreage will continue to decrease. The 2018 wheat planning was down 1 percent from 2017 and down 10 percent from 2016 coming in at the second lowest projected planting on record. The WASDE projected price for 2017/18 is $4.60 also below the reference price of $5.50. Figure 3 shows the quantity of U.S. wheat use. The majority of wheat use is in foodstuffs like bread, cookies and pasta.

Putting all three crops on the same graph, Figure 4 compares the stock to use ratios for all three U.S. commodities.

However, the U.S. is not the only place with large ending stocks in storage. World supplies of corn, soybeans and wheat have also been on the increase the last few years as referenced by Figure 5. Corn and soybeans stocks to use ratios have both showed a decrease on stronger demand and a growing drought in South American crops specifically Argentina causing reduced yields.

International trade is a topic of popular discussion in America right now as the renegotiation process of the North America Free Trade Agreement just finished its sixth round of negotiations. Canada and Mexico are importers of U.S. corn and soybeans with China remaining as the largest importer of U.S. soybeans. A strong U.S. dollar relative to international currencies weakens the market share of U.S. goods in the international markets. In the last few years, Brazilian soybeans have chipped away at the U.S. export market to several of the world’s largest importers of soybeans. Exports remain vital to the U.S. as large portions of both corn and soybeans production rely on international trade.

Summary:

Stocks in the United States and globally have grown in the last few years on larger than expected yields. Large stocks suppress grain prices as grain comes to the market out of private storage when market prices tick up. It is unlikely to see large movements in future prices for the coming growing season without a weather related shock. However, local elevators will probably fluctuate their delivery price based on their need for grain. Ethanol plants in Ohio have already started to do this when needing more corn. Large stocks internationally will continue to hurt U.S. trade internationally as a strong U.S. dollar makes U.S. products more expensive. Some countries like China have reversed domestic commodity price supports to work down their stockpiles of corn. As stocks decrease, the expectation is to see larger swings in markets from weather related events both domestically and abroad. Happy National Grain Bin Safety Week!

Ben Brown
The Ohio State University Department of Agriculture, Environmental, and Development Economics
614-688-8686 (Office)  660-492-7574 (Cell)
brown.6888@osu.edu

2018 OSU Outlook Meeting Schedule

Source: Chris Bruynis, Associate Professor & Extension Educator

Ohio State University Extension is pleased to announce the 2018 Agricultural Outlook Meetings! In 2018 there will be seven locations in Ohio. Each location will have speaker addressing the topics of Free Trade Agreements: Why They Matter to US Agriculture, Grain Market Outlook, and Examining the 2018 Ohio Farm Economy. Additional topics vary by location and include 2018 Farm Bill Policy Update, Dairy Production Economics Update, and Farm Tax Update.

Join the faculty from Ohio State University Extension, Ohio State Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Developmental Economics, and Industry Leaders as they discuss the issues and trends affecting agriculture in Ohio. Each meeting is being hosted by a county OSU Extension Educator to provide a local personal contact for this meeting. A meal is provided with each meeting and included in the registration price. Questions can be directed to the local host contact.

The Ag Outlook presentations will be recorded this year and be made available to farmers not living close to the meeting locations or those unable to attend. These will be posted in early February on the Ohio Ag Manager website located at https://u.osu.edu/ohioagmanager/resources/. For additional information on recording, please contact Chris Bruynis at bruynis.1@osu.edu.

The outlook meeting are scheduled for the following dates and locations:

Date: January 22, 2018
Time: 7:30 am – 10:30 am
Speakers: Barry Ward, Matt Roberts, Ian Sheldon
Location: Emmett Chapel, 318 Tarlton Rd, Circleville, OH 43113
Cost: $10.00
RSVP: Call OSU Extension Pickaway County 740-474-7534
By: January 15th
More information can be found at: http://pickaway.osu.edu

Date: January 22, 2018
Time: 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Speakers: Barry Ward, Matt Roberts, Ian Sheldon
Location: The Loft at Pickwick Place, 1875 N Sandusky Ave., Bucyrus OH 44820
Cost: $15.00
RSVP: Call OSU Extension, Crawford County 419-562-8731 or email hartschuh.11@osu.edu
By: January 15th
More information can be found at: http://crawford.osu.edu

Date: January 26, 2018
Time: 8:00 am – noon
Speakers: Barry Ward, Matt Roberts, Ian Sheldon
Location: Der Dutchman, Plain City
Cost: $15.00
RSVP: Call OSU Extension, Union County 937-644-8117
By: January 19th
More information can be found at: http://union.osu.edu

Date: January 29, 2018
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Speakers: Mike Gastier, Matt Roberts, Ian Sheldon
Location: St Mary’s Hall 46 East Main St. Wakeman, OH 44889
Cost: No Charge; $20.00 if past deadline
RSVP: Call OSU Extension, Huron County 419-668-8219
By: January 22nd
More information can be found at: http://huron.osu.edu

Date: January 29, 2018
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Speakers: Barry Ward, Jim Byrne, Ian Sheldon
Location: Jewell Community Center,
Cost: $10:00 (after deadline $20.00)
RSVP: OSU Extension, Defiance County 419-782-4771 or online at http://defiance.osu.edu
By: January 22nd
More information can be found at: http://defiance.osu.edu

Date: January 31, 2018
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
Speakers: Ian Sheldon, Jim Byrne, Ben Brown, Barry Ward, Dianne Shoemaker, David Marrison
Location: Fisher Auditorium
Cost: $15.00
RSVP: Call OSU Extension, Wayne County 330-264-8722
By: January 24th
More information can be found at: http://wayne.osu.edu

Date: March 23, 2018
Time: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Speakers: Barry Ward, Matt Roberts, Chris Bruynis
Location: Chamber Ag Day / Ag Outlook meeting, Darke County
Registration Flyer: http://go.osu.edu/2018darkeagoutlook
Cost: $20
RSVP: Darke County Extension office at 937-548-5215
By: March 16th
More information can be found at: http://darke.osu.edu

OSU Agricultural Policy and Outlook Conference Video Recordings

On November 9, 2017 the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Developmental Economics at The Ohio State University offered their annual Agricultural Outlook Program. Each presentation was recorded for those agricultural leaders that could not attend. We are making these available to everyone. Below are the links to the full conference and each individual presenter.

Full Seminar – 2017 Agricultural Policy and Outlook Conference: View Full Conference

Ani Katchova – Ohio Farm Financial Conditions and Outlook: View Dr Katchova’s Presentation

Ian Sheldon – Free Trade Agreements: View Dr Sheldon’s Presentation

Ben Brown – Ohio Farm Management Program Overview: View Ben Brown’s Presentation

Carl Zulauf – 2018 Farm Bill Outlook: View Dr Zulauf’s PresentationGeorge Mokrzan – Economic Outlook: https://youtu.be/6MPGrj1ugdc

George Mokrzan – Economic Outlook: View George Mokrzan’s Presentation

Gary Schnitkey – Current Outlook and Economic Conditions on Corn-Belt Farms: View Dr Schnitkey’s Presentation

Conference power point presentations can be found here

Technical difficulties or questions can be directed to
Kelli Trinoskey
Communication and Outreach Manager
The Ohio State University
Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
Agricultural Administration Building, Room 250H – 2120 Fyffe Rd. Columbus, OH 43210
614-688-1323
trinoskey.1@osu.edu

Points to Consider Before Starting a Hops Operation

By: Brad Bergefurd, Horticulture Specialist, OSU South Centers

Hop farming requires a substantial investment in capital, time and management. A business and marketing plan is essential to developing a successful hops operation. A new factsheet has been released by OSU Extension to outline the pre-planning points that should be addressed to create a financially successful hops operation.

Economic considerations and site preparation are two important points for a successful hops operation and integral to a business and marketing plan. Planning in these two areas is essential, and the business and marketing plan should be developed at least one year prior to planting the first hop plants.

New hop growers are also encouraged to consider the details in this fact sheet before making an investment. Production budgets indicate at least $25,000 per acre may be needed to establish a high trellis hop planting and at least a $100,000 investment for a small-scale hop processing, drying, pelletizing, cooling, packaging and freezing facility built to federal and state food safety regulatory standards. This fact sheet looks at:

  • Market establishment
  • Labor needs and availability
  • Facilities for processing and storage
  • Insurance considerations
  • Financial and planning resources
Site preparation considerations including:
  • Site selection
  • Field preparation
  • Plant selection
  • Plant nutrition and fertilization
  • Pest management

The complete fact sheet can be accessed at: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-58 or can be obtained by calling your County Extension office.

Ag Outlook and Policy Meeting to be held on February 2 in Wooster, Ohio

So what’s ahead for farmers and Ag businesses in 2017?  OSU Extension invites producers to attend the Ag Outlook and Policy meeting on Thursday, February 2, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Fisher Auditorium OARDC located at 1680 Madison Avenue in Wooster, Ohio. A wide variety of experts will be on hand to share their agricultural outlook for 2017.

The following presentations will be made during the program:

Speculation on President Trump’s Policy Agenda and What Are Grain Markets Telling Us?- By: Carl Zulauf, Ag Policy Specialist and Professor Emeritus from The Ohio State University will provide “

Dairy Economic Update- By: Dianne Shoemaker: OSU Extension Dairy Production Economics Field Specialist

Beef Cattle Outlook- By: John Grimes: Extension Beef Program Specialist

Ten Legal Trends That Could Change Agriculture- Peggy Hall: OSU Extension Ag Law and Resources Program

Crop Budget and Cropland Rental Update- Rory Lewandowski: Extension Educator Wayne County

Farm & Estate Tax Laws – Planning for an Uncertain Future- David Marrison: Extension Educator Ashtabula County

This program is being sponsored by OSU Extension, Farmers National Bank, and Farm Credit.  The registration cost is $15 per person with the deadline of January 26, 2017. Make checks payable to OSU Extension. Please send checks and registration to: OSU Extension- Wayne County, 428 W. Liberty Street – Suite 12, Wooster, Ohio 44691.  More information can be obtained by calling the Wayne County Extension office at 330-264-8722 or email Rory Lewandowski at Lewandowski.11@osu.edu

2016 Grain Outlook Meeting to Be Held in Plain City

by: Amanda Douridas

Low crop margins are one of the biggest concerns farmers are dealing with. Projections are for crop prices seem to change daily. Are farmland rental rates going to provide any relief? What about input costs? These are all difficult questions to answer given predicting the future impossible. Based on their experience and research, University experts will do their best to answer these questions during a series of Outlook Meetings across the state.

Extension in Champaign, Madison and Union Counties, along with the Union County Agriculture Association are hosting a Grain Outlook Breakfast at the Der Dutchman in Plain City on January 27 from 8:30-noon. The cost to attend is $10 and reservations can be made by January 20 to the Union County Extension Office, 18000 St. Rt. 4, Suite E, Marysville, OH 43040. For more information, visit: http://go.osu.edu/agevents.

Dr. Carl Zulauf will examine what the grain markets are telling us and the price and return outlook for 2017. The morning will also feature a presentation from Barry Ward on examining land values, rents, crop input costs and potential crop profitability for the coming year. Additionally, Peggy Kirk Hall, J.D., will address ten legal trends that could change agriculture.

Other locations around the state can be found at: https://u.osu.edu/ohioagmanager/